05 August 2007

The Bourne Ultimatum

Bourne Goes Out with a BANG

So, for those of you scoring at home, The Bourne Ultimatum was the fifth “three-quel” to come out this summer, with Rush Hour 3 due out the following week. Anyway, I went to see Jason Bourne in his finale. All I can say is, if you have seen the other two, this one will not disappoint you in the least. Paul Greengrass knows what he is doing behind the camera of an action movie, and this is his second time in the series.

This time around, Bourne veterans Matt Damon, Joan Allen, and Julia Stiles are joined by Scott Glenn, David Strathairn and Albert Finney. The only regret I have about this trilogy is that I have not read the books by Robert Ludlum that the series is based on. I hear that there are some differences, but I do not know what.

In this final act, Bourne (Damon) finally puts the missing pieces of his past together. The government chases him through country after country, but to no avail. Along the way, he runs into Miss Nicky Parsons (Stiles) who decided to join Bourne’s side putting herself at risk. Thank goodness for that. It allowed for a very good chase scene ending with an intense hand-to-hand fight. Noah Vosen (Strathairn) and Ezra Kramer (Glenn) seem to have a secret that they are trying to silence with the death of Bourne, but we are not privy to information until Bourne himself figures it out. They are trying to pin anything that could go wrong onto Pamela Landy (Allen).

Finally, Jason Bourne makes his way back to the U.S.A. Here, he goes straight for them, breaking into the very agency trying to capture him. Then, he is chased one final time in a hair raising car chase. He then runs into Dr. Albert Hirsch (Finney) who puts all the final pieces into place. At this point, everyone runs into each other, and the end happens. I will not give it away, but it is totally worth the ride.

Seeing The Bourne Ultimatum put faith back in the trilogy. I refused to pay to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Ocean’s Thirteen. I was disappointed in both Spider-Man 3 ans Shrek the Third. So, a good send off was satisfying. I would see this in theaters if you enjoy the franchise or action movies in general. I have said that a lot this summer, but, Live Free or Die Hard and Transformers both rocked.

Who is the Hairy Man?

I recently got a position with insideSTL.com as a movie critic. I will be posting on there once a week and here the rest of the time. I plan to post links between the sites to increase cross traffic. That means I should post 1 new review a week, at least!